Teacher describes 'toxic' atmosphere at music schools

A woman who taught at two of the five elite music schools at the heart of an
alleged sexual abuse scandal has described their atmosphere as “deeply
toxic” and said teachers at both were known to have had affairs with teenage
pupils.

Former pupil Ian Pace has reopened a petition urging the government to look into the alleged abuse at Chetham’s as well as other institutionsPhoto: Rex Features

The teacher, who does not wish to be identified, alleged that a head of department at one of the schools had tried to rape her. She could not face going to the police and said he continued to teach music at a different school.

She said the same teacher had admitted he had been having a relationship with a pupil. At the other school, she said that a teacher was having an affair with one of her 16-year-old pupils.

“The general pastoral care was absolutely non-existent”, she said.

“There was a lot of very inappropriate behaviour. One of the schools in particular had the vibe of a place that was simply not under control.”

There have been growing calls for a wide-ranging inquiry into allegations of historic sexual abuse and a more robust system of safeguarding in specialist schools, in which pastoral care should be given priority over gruelling schedules.

Few believe that one-to-one teaching should be abolished, although the intense method of practice has been widely blamed for the culture of dependency that it provokes.

The teacher said: “One-to-one teaching is intensely intimate and can result in huge pressure being put on very young children who can be deeply vulnerable.

“You see less scrupulous staff whose own careers may not have taken off creating for themselves this image of a truly wonderful teacher. It is a cult thing that people buy into.”

She said the system also created a “very politically unhappy environment” in which the pupils were sometimes used to fight battles between the staff.

Ian Pace, a pianist and former pupil at Chetham’s music school in Manchester, which is at the centre of a police investigation, said he had written to the UK’s top five music schools asking if they would support calls for a wide-ranging government-led investigation.

All five said they took the matter seriously but were non committal when it came to backing the call for an inquiry. Mr Pace has reopened a petition urging the government to look into the alleged abuse at Chetham’s as well as other institutions.

Lucy Powell, the Labour MP for Manchester, backed the call. She said: “I do think it’s time we had a broader inquiry because one of the issues that’s come up is the question of has jurisdiction over these institutions, who is ultimately responsible for safeguarding aside from the schools themselves?

“There are clearly still ongoing issues about procedure, policy and leadership when dealing with abuse.”

The Department for Education said it had “no current plans” to commission an inquiry.